Tales of Phantasia

Tales of Phantasia
Packaging for the Super Famicom version
Developer(s)Wolf Team
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Eiji Kikuchi
Producer(s)Shigeru Yokoyama
Yoichi Haraguchi
Artist(s)Kōsuke Fujishima
Writer(s)Yoshiharu Gotanda
Composer(s)Motoi Sakuraba
Shinji Tamura
Ryota Furuya
SeriesTales
Platform(s)Super Famicom, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, iOS, Mobile phone
ReleaseSuper Famicom
  • JP: December 15, 1995
PlayStation
  • JP: September 28, 2000 (re-release)[2]
Game Boy Advance
  • JP: August 1, 2003[3]
  • NA: March 6, 2006
  • EU: March 31, 2006
  • AU: April 13, 2006
PlayStation Portable
  • JP: September 6, 2006
  • JP: August 9, 2007 (re-release)[4]
Cell phone
  • JP: March 17, 2010
iOS
Genre(s)Action role-playing game
Mode(s)Single-player

Tales of Phantasia[a] is an action role-playing video game developed by Wolf Team and published by Namco for the Super Famicom. Originally released only in Japan in December 1995, it is the first title in the Tales series. It was later ported to a number of other platforms, including a Japan-exclusive version for the PlayStation in December 1998 and a Game Boy Advance version published by Namco in Japan in August 2003 and later published by Nintendo in North America and Europe in March 2006, which marked the first time the game was officially available in English. A PlayStation Portable remake known as Tales of Phantasia Full Voice Edition[b] followed in September 2006, featuring full voice acting during story scenes, which was later included with further enhancements as part of Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X in June 2010. The game's producers have given it the characteristic genre name Legendary RPG[c] beginning with the PlayStation version, with the Full Voice Edition given the moniker Legendary RPG Embellished with Voices.[d] An unofficial fan translation of the original Super Famicom version was released on February 12, 2001 by Dejap.

The game takes place in a fantasy world of Aselia and follows Cress Albane, a highly-trained swordsman who is driven by vengeance after his hometown is destroyed. Seeking further answers, he finds out that this is none other than a scheme to free the war-mongering Dhaos, the game's main antagonist. To prevent further catastrophes, Cress is aided by the use of time travel to gather allies from the past who can help him put an end to Dhaos's rampage once and for all.

The game was written and programmed by Yoshiharu Gotanda, designed by Masaki Norimoto, and scored by Motoi Sakuraba, Shinji Tamura and Ryota Furuya. The character designs were created by manga artist Kōsuke Fujishima. A short anime series based on the game, called Tales of Phantasia: The Animation, was released in 2004.

Tales of Phantasia was highly anticipated but faced numerous delays and development setbacks, ultimately releasing at the end of the Super Famicom’s lifespan in 1995. Tales of Phantasia is considered one of the crowning achievements for its time. It has graphics that push the console to its limits, an original never-before-seen battle system, and the addition of actual voices and voice actors. It is also the first and only Super Famicom game to feature an entirely original, vocalized theme song featured directly in the game. It has sold over 1.3m units in Japan alone, making it the second best-selling game in the franchise in that region and one of the best-selling games in the franchise as a whole.

  1. ^ "テイルズ オブ ファンタジア：TALES OF PHANTASIA" [Tales of Phantasia: TALES OF PHANTASIA] (in Japanese). Namco. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  2. ^ テイルズオブ大全1995-2011 (in Japanese). Enterbrain. 2011. p. 6. ISBN 9784047273542.
  3. ^ "GBA/テイルズ オブ ファンタジア：TALES OF PHANTASIA" [GBA/Tales of Phantasia/TALES OF PHANTASIA] (in Japanese). Namco. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  4. ^ テイルズオブ大全1995-2011 (in Japanese). Enterbrain. 2011. p. 9. ISBN 9784047273542.
  5. ^ "Tales of Phantasia（English Ver.）". iTunes. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  6. ^ "テイルズ オブ ファンタジア | バンダイナムコゲームス公式サイト". バンダイナムコゲームス. Retrieved 2013-11-04.


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